HomeBusiness/GovernmentBusinesses Going Green Can Co-opt and Reward Employees for Doing the Same

Businesses Going Green Can Co-opt and Reward Employees for Doing the Same

Katie Brenneman, a frequent guest writer here at 21st Century Tech Blog, appears to be on a mission. In her last posting, she wrote about the challenges small businesses face in addressing carbon emissions. In this contribution, she looks at ways for businesses to not only implement green initiatives internally and within their supply chain, but also co-opt and reward employees for individual green initiative efforts.

As a climate change activist, I have advocated for the use of personal carbon footprint calculators for families and individuals to better understand how their consumption contributes to higher or lower carbon emissions. Katie has added another way to tackle the challenge by getting businesses involved with their employees to make a common effort to mitigate and adapt to climate change. I hope you find her article inspiring.

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More companies are thinking about ways they can change their business processes to be green and combat global warming. But what about giving employees incentives to also go green? There is more to combatting waste and climate change than recyclable packaging and reusable coffee cups. So how can companies get greener and encourage their staff to do the same?

Striving To Be Green

The burning of fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses released into the air year after year are having catastrophic effects on the planet. It’s not just about elevated temperatures and other extreme weather, but also the disruption in the balance of nature including changes to vector-borne disease ranges and increases in pest infestations. In Africa, for example, we are witnessing disrupted ecosystems as a result, with detrimental effects on infrastructure and food supply.

While making conscious choices helps the environment, going green also can improve overall health. That’s because when the air is clean, we breathe better. When farmers practice no-till agriculture and use fewer pesticides, the food we get is healthier. When forests are nurtured and green they sequester more of the carbon dioxide our industries emit. And when we reduce airborne pollutants, our skies are bluer and we feel better both physically and mentally.

In business, going green can feed into happier organizations and happier and engaged employees. That’s why businesses that commit to a green transition in combination with employee engagement can help to double and triple climate change mitigation and effective adaptation.

Great Programs To Start

So what can a business do? Here are a few ideas:

  • Start with how your employees get to work. You can set up a program to reward employees who ride bikes to the office or drive hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). Employers may even provide partial payment for an employee to get a bike. Or they can give parking preferences to hybrid and EV owners.
  • encourage green behaviours inside the office. For example:
    • Set goals to eliminate the need to print physical documents.
    • Dim computer screens for energy conservation.
    • Make it a point to recycle everything you can rather than throw stuff in the trash.
    • Reward employees who adopt these practices through recognition, cash incentives, or time off.
    • For remote workers, get them to do the same things in their home working environments and provide similar recognition for achieving results.

Reward Employees for Things They Do at Home

Learned behaviours from the workplace will likely become behaviours at home. But to ensure that employees are making greener choices, programs offered by employers can make a significant difference away from the job as well. For example, employers can set up low-interest loan programs or help with the paperwork to access government grants and other subsidies for:

  • Installing solar panels and battery backup systems.
  • Replacing furnaces and air conditioners with electric heat pumps.
  • Upgrading windows and doors.
  • Adding insulation to attics and walls.
  • Even lower monthly energy bills at home can be recognized and rewarded.

Encourage and reward employees for getting up and enjoying time outside instead of sitting at home when not working. Getting physical improves overall health and leads to greater work productivity. An incentive to get employees active can be a reduction in their co-payment contribution to company health insurance programs. Creating outside-the-box rewards for going green is also a good way to give employees a greater appreciation of the business’s efforts to fight climate change. For example, if your company uses promotional bling in its marketing, make sure items you purchase are low carbon, reusable, and recyclable. These can be items employees can use at home as well like reusable shopping bags, recycled mugs, promotional pens and other paraphernalia made from recycled plastic.

Whether an employer or an employee, as you read this posting I am sure you can think of even more ways to fight the good fight to lower corporate and personal carbon emissions. Go for it!

lenrosen4
lenrosen4https://www.21stcentech.com
Len Rosen lives in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. He is a former management consultant who worked with high-tech and telecommunications companies. In retirement, he has returned to a childhood passion to explore advances in science and technology. More...

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